religion

In Madison, Alabama a 27 year old mother was married and divorced. This divorce led to a custody battle of her only child. All across the country there is an increase in child custody battles in which religion is the focus point and this has been going on for over 30 years. It is said that judges are just as likely to rule in favor of the more religiously engaged parents as to the other one.The problem that arises in the court room is that judges do not want to take on custody battles that have to do with religion who’s to say that Islam is better than Buddhism or Catholicism is better that Judaism. As a result more states have tried to keep custody disputes out of the court be mandating mediation. But religious disputes keep coming and are proven to be the most difficult to resolve.

We were easy targets because we were made to look like cultists,” Mrs. Snider, 27 said. “I think whether anyone admits it or not, almost all of the ruling had to do with religion. Nothing I had done was called into question except that.”They say that the amount of custody battles involving religion has increased because a generation ago, mothers almost always got custody and were responsible for nearly all aspects of children’s upbringing. But now both parents are involved in the raising of the children after a divorce which, leads to dispute.

Religion is being linked to a happy life

Research people are saying that if you have a belief in God then you will most likely live a happier life. They say that drastic things that happen in people’s life such as things like divorce, they say that they can deal with the shock better if they are religious. It is also said from many Europeans believe that there is a higher life satisfaction from those that are religious.

            They say that religion is something that offers “buffer” and that they are protected from life’s disappointments from this. They tried a research project in some of the European countries and the analysis said that religious people suffered less psychological harm from unemployment than non-religious people. This proved higher levels of life satisfaction.

            It is true that many of the people who went to church ended up having a higher number of divorces rather than the people who didn’t go but those who did go to church were not as much psychologically affected by the marriage separation.

            Professor Lesile Francis, from the university of warwick said that religion and mental health increased the happiness of others and also increased the “purpose of life” felt by believers.

            Although there are many studies that help prove the fact that religion has a positive effect on people many other people also believe that religion leads to self-doubt and failure. This is something people have a strong opinion about and its not going to change. Some people that have an interest of atheists and agnostics said that studies that were trying to show a link between happiness and religion was meaningless. Non-believers cannot just turn to s certain faith just to be happy life religious people can.

            “A large part of it is due to the meaning, purpose and value which believing in God gives you, whereas not believing in God can leave you without those things.”

Jasmine lewis 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7302609.stm

Poland has been put into a difficulty to associate to Europe Union for a religionous reason. Brendan Fay who is a “famous” gay is fighting for equal fair of gays and lesbians in Poland. he physically puts his country in a posibility not be able to get into Europe Union and the balance of political power in Warsaw. This guy himself got married with Dr. Thomas A. Moulton in 2003. The president Lech Kaczynski who is a symbol of the conservative Law and Justice Party has given a speech about their wedding including a video clip. He has also shown the map of Poland before World War II, linking his anti-gay to historic event that Poland had anxieties with German encroachment.
In contrast, Mr. Fay sent a letter to the Poland’s consul general in New York. He critisized for civil rights. He claimed that there is no justificable reasons for showing their private stuff in public without their permission, especially as a part of homophobic campaign. The consul general said that he did not know why the president did that. They might try to find some useful proofs that support their ideas which goes against homosexuality.
Homosexuality is still illegal in some countries. In Senegal, they arrested some guys just because they appear in a gay wedding. But this is not a good reason for critisizing or linking it with the country’s history or events. Also, we need to talk about human rights. Gays and lesbians are human, too. For some reasons, they are different from everybody else. But they may come together and help each other. That is not wrong. We need to see it wisely and let them live as normal people. It is not against any laws. Religions is an important aspect but they have been made to teach us how to treat people ethically, not to put them into laws that take away their hapiness. Laws against gays nad lesbian are belong to cultural laws, not belong to economics laws or co-operation. We have to differ them. We may commend them but not ban them for that.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7226346.stm

Ngoc Tran

When the pledge of allegiance was first written in 1893, the words “under God” were not included. In 1952 an amendment was made to the Pledge of Allegiance, which contained the words “under God” after “one nation.” These words were brought in by the Knights of Columbus. Mr. Eisenhower, who was the president at the time, said: “We are particularly thankful to you for your part in the movement to have the words ‘under God’ added to our Pledge of Allegiance. These words will remind Americans that despite our great physical strength we must remain humble. They will help us to keep constantly in our minds and hearts the spiritual and moral principles which alone give dignity to man, and upon which our way of life is founded. For the contribution which your organization has made to this cause, we must be genuinely grateful.”  I tend to agree with President Eisenhower because the pledge is more of a remainder of the principles and morals in which our country came to be than a religious statement. We have this perception that there’s a lot of people who think that the pledge is unconstitutional  and the words “under God” should be taken out of the pledge, but in reality it is not so. According to a recent poll done by Newsweek magazine almost 90% of Americans believe that the words “under God” should be included in the Pledge of Allegiance. So is this topic as controversial as it actually seems? I think that some people are just taking this whole issue and blowing it out of proportion. The pledge isn’t enforcing any religious beliefs on anyone and if you don’t agree with the pledge then simply don’t recite it. Only elementary kids are made to recite the pledge and I don’t think that they take into consideration the words “under God” as deeply as some people do. I think that they just say it without thinking about it.

There have been appeals made to try to remove the words “under God” from the pledge. In 2002 when the Newdow vs. U.S. Congress case occurred, the senate voted 99-0 and the House of Representatives voted 416-3, which reaffirm the words “under God” in the pledge. If the people who represents us in court are a true representative of what the American people believe than the large majority of Americans agree that the words “under God” should remain in the pledge.

Rather we choose to accept it or not our constitution was built upon Christian beliefs and the teachings of the Bible.  The Bible teaches many of the moral beliefs that we as a nation believe in.  A French observer de Toqueville said, after touring America, “America is great because America is good; if America ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.” This is happening right now. America wants to abandon and forget the moral beliefs in which it was founded upon and because of that America is no longer the great country that it once was.

By:Gabriela Guzman

http://www.newsmax.com/boone/moral_compass/2008/03/17/80975.html

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~kelsbels/pledge/schools.html

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~kelsbels/pledge/pewforum.html

http://www.kofc.org/rc/en/about/activities/community/pledgeAllegiance.pdf

Religions is becoming an important aspect in American politics. Many changes in the U.S.A have drawn upon religious institutions: civil rights, social movements, abolition,..Nowadays, religions also becomes a decisive element in elections. The 2004 presidental eletion was held when candidates openly discussed about their religion beliefs. Church became an important place and people could be sorted not just by their policy preferences but also by their religious commitments.
According to August 2007 poll by the Pew Forum and the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 69% of the Americans agree that it is important for a politician to have a strong belief in religions. But, 63% do not want churches take part in elections. Only 28% say that churches might be an option for candidtes if they are unsure about who they want to vote for.
Religions is an important part in life and society but we should not consider it as an element to make the decision, especially in an decisive event such as elections. We need to view people in many sides. It is important to have a strong belief in religions but that is not a good idea to let it decide our life. I know a story about a guy who killed a person because his death brother went to his dream and said that someone killed him. When he was arrested, he still thought that it was not wrong. In that case, we easily blame religious thinking for that but I do not think there is a religion that tells everyone to kill people. Religions need to be viewed as a cultural aspect and with a brilliant thinking or it would lead people to crime. The danger is that they do not recognize their actions. Religios might help us be optimistic and hopeful in our life but we still have to think about the reality. A celebrity has said “Trust in God but do not forget to lock the door”
Ngoc Tran

http://pewforum.org/religion-politics/

Muslims all over the world such as in Sudan, Pakistan, and turkey and in the Middle East are easily being angered because of the republication of a cartoon from a 2005 series that satirized the prophet Muhammad.

Another broadcast that is being protested against is an Islamic film by right wing Dutch parliamentarian Geert wilder that links things to Islamic violence. Geert wilder says that the video is almost done and he plans on showing it on the Internet and television. Pakistan’s you tube was shut down because of this film.

President Omar from Sudan says that the Danes will be banned from Sudan because of this republication of the cartoons. Omar said to a crowd, which he was speaking to, “we urge all Muslims around the world to boycott Danish commodities, goods, companies, institutions, organizations and personalities.”

On February 17, the Danish newspapers reprinted the cartoons of there prophet Muhammad and the Danish police arrested several people for planning to attack cartoonist who drew most of the sketches. Apparently they published the cartoon to show the commitment of freedom of speech. The next publication that they published made was for people who defend media” as right to publish or broadcast whatever they please.

            In Egypt a Muslim-Christian body were holding a press and after 2 days of meeting they came to conclusion that they need to respect others beliefs and symbols. “No civilized society should allow disrespect of the belief system of other communities” making a point of the cartoon publication had most definitely offended Muslims all over the world. And because of this the video that was put on the Internet was deleted.

            I say that it is not right to mock anybody’s beliefs. The  cartoon that was made was insulting to many people. Every religion has a right and a belief that they look up to and go by and that is okay, but in no way has a right to be mocked critized or made fun of.

Jasmine lewis

www.csmonitor.com/2008/0028/p99s01-duts.html

Life has changed for inmates in Unit E at the state prison in Newton, Iowa. There the sinks and toilets are porcelain and are in separate rooms unlike the ones in other parts of the prison which are metal and right beside the bunks leading to you having no privacy. The cells in unit E also have real wooden doors with doorknobs and locks. They have more books, more computers and the inmates have classes, chores, discussions and music practices. There they even enjoy occasional movies, live bands and even ’real world food’ which is considered to be food such as pizza and sandwiches from subway. There is also more homier visiting rooms to see their loved ones.

The only way that an inmate would be able to enjoy this more satisfying life in prison is if he enters a intensely religions rehabilitation program, satisfy the evangelic Christians running it and prove that he is making acceptable religious progress.

This program, which started in 1997 at a Texas prison, was supported by George W. Bush who was the governor at the time. The program was made “to ‘cure’ prisoners by identifying sin as the root of their problems” and showing inmates “how God can heal them permanently, if they turn from their sinful past.” As quoted by the state prisons website.

What if Christianity is not your belief? Where does this put you ? Well one roman catholic inmate left the program after only a year because he felt that the staff members were hostile towards his faith saying “My No. 1 reason for leaving the program was that I personally felt spiritually crushed,” . “I just didn’t feel good about where I was and what was going on.”

The idea of this program was taken to court in Iowa and was ruled as being an unconstitutional use of taxpayers money for religions indoctrination. The judge ruled that the program would be cut if the enrollment falls below 60 inmates and that the state could not fund the program. Even though this case was taken to court in Iowa, Iowa is not the only prison bringing religion into its doors. Although everyone does not agree with the intent of this program there are some that do. The program is actually expanding for example, the Corrections Corporation of America which has the nations largest prisons now has 22 institutions offering programs similar to the ones in Iowa.

For people who want to get rid of this program the only penalties so far that can be imposed is of future financing, basically saying that taxes could not fund this religious program and that the government is financing services that show favor in a specific religion . Others fighting for this program only really have the argument that choosing to go into this program is just like a parents choosing to send there child to a religious school or public, you either go or you don’t.

I believe that this a very debatable program. If it supported more than one religion then I would feel a different way but, since ,to me, it seems to favor Christianity I think that, that is wrong and that the prisons should look more towards the virtuousness of an inmates behavior instead of their religion.

Aaliyah

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/10/business/10faith.html

http://pewforum.org/news/display.php

In Bulgaria they are considering whether a class on religion should be a mandatory class or should students have it just as an elective. Orthodox Christianity, until 1944 was a mandatory school subject since it was Bulgaria’s official religion at the time. But since communism was established in Bulgaria, religion was banned as a school subject. After communism had ended religion classes came back, but this time each school decided whether they wanted a class on religion or not. Many debates still have been made, involving people from all different kinds of religious backgrounds such as Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholics, Protestant, Jews, Muslims and atheists,  on the issue if religion should be taught in the schools as a mandatory subject or not. On January 28 a public council developed the idea that religion should be taught as a mandatory subject for students between first to seventh grade and for students in 8^th to 12^th grade religion should be an optional one. The public council stated that the main purpose of the class would be “to build up students’ moral beliefs on the basis of universal human rights”. Students would be taught the history of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and other religions. This is a good idea as long as their not enforcing any religious beliefs on the students just informing them about the religions so that they can be educated on them.

The Holy Synod agreed that Religion should be taught as a mandatory subject but had a different idea on how it should be done than that of the public council’s. They thought that there should be 4 main religions taught and each student could decide which one that he or she wanted to study. The classes would teach about each religion’s beliefs.  This isn’t such a good idea because young students aren’t going to know which religion they want to study, they probably aren’t really going to care much. Most parents aren’t going to want their kids learning about a specific religion and its belief especially if they don’t follow that religion. If schools want to teach specifically about one religion then they should make that school a private school like they do in the United States.

http://www.sofiaecho.com/article/insight-religion-in-schools/id_27704/catid_5

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=672905&category=ALBANY&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=3/19/2008

Pope Benedict is letting everybody know that God’s name cannot be used to justify violence in anyway. They will be holding an event by catholic lay organization including Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and Zoroastrians to talk more about this situation. It will be a three day conference that has to do with religions and cultures in dialogue that gathers scholars and religious leaders. Some of theses leaders involve Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Israel’s chief rabbi yona Metzger and imam of the united Arab Emirates, Ibrahim Ezzeddin

            “It is not right to create conflict with God’s name” said the pope. He also stated that religion is something that is precious and is meant to build a peaceful humanity. This event that they are holding is meant to promote reconciliation between people and hold peace and respect between the different religions.

            The mass did not turn out as good as what they hoped due to the horribly cold and wet weather. But the pope still hopes for a profound spiritual renewal in the city because of all the unemployment and high crime rates. He says the “everyone must intervene against violence.”

            I believe that it is not right to use Gods name as violence. Religion is something that is supposed to drive away as much violence as possible. It is suppose to create love and peace to the people around you. I also think that everyone should respect other people’s religions but yet at the same time I do not believe that this will ever happen.  For the people that actually have a strong faith for which ever it is that they believe in then they most likely have a strong opinion on it as well. They aren’t going to say oh well I like this about this faith and that about the other faith. They have a pretty solid ground about what they believe in that’s why they choose that faith.

            I think that it would be easier for the people that do not really care or have a strong belief on the faith they have chosen to create peace and have less violence because since they do not really care they aren’t really looking into it.  If people are starting to use Gods name as hatred I feel like they are just looking for some kind of argument.  I feel like people should believe in whatever they want to believe in but they should not have to combine or “mix” the faiths. People are still going to believe whatever they want to believe and nobody is ever going to be able to stop that. It is simply a way of making people human.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7055147.stm